Chapter 754: Life and Death in a Blink of an Eye - Batman (Part 1) (Patreon)

In DC World With Marvel Chat Group : Table of Content/Chapter List

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

"Alright, Bruce, I understand that you've been in a bad mood lately, but you shouldn't push yourself too hard. It's okay to relax for one evening. Whatever work you have, you can always do it during the daytime tomorrow," Selena said as she moved a chair next to Bruce and placed her hand on his shoulder. She leaned in, blowing a gentle breath on his cheek. "We haven't seen each other for several days. Do you really have to be this busy now?"

"Specific symptoms of anxiety disorder... Haven't I written on this topic before? I recall it was last month's assignment... My estimated word count was off, and I'm afraid I have a sixty-thousand-word paper to write..." Bruce mumbled.

"What did you say?" Selena didn't catch what Bruce was muttering. She straightened up, her large eyes scanning Bruce from head to toe like a scanner, stopping midway.

Selena raised an eyebrow and said, "Maggie told me that if a man suddenly loses interest in you, it means he must have found someone new!"

"Bruce Wayne!" Selena slapped the table hard. "I knew something was off about your recent behavior! This cheating scoundrel!"

Having said that, she let out an exasperated sigh through her nose, stood up, and started to walk away. But to her surprise, even though she had taken a couple of steps, Bruce remained motionless.

Selena was getting impatient. After not seeing each other for so long, they should have at least spent a couple of hours together. She was trying to be patient and comfort Bruce, fearing that he might be under too much pressure lately, and his mental state might not be right. However, it seemed like she was acting in front of a blind man who didn't even acknowledge her presence.

While Batman was always stern with others, he was gentle with Catwoman. They each had their own lives, and there were times when they were apart, but when they reunited, it was like glue. Batman would even sacrifice his time fighting criminals to be with Catwoman, showing how special she was to him.

But today, Selena was on the verge of sitting in his lap, yet Bruce remained unmoved, showing no interest whatsoever.

"This is unbelievable!" Selena muttered under her breath. She thought Bruce might be unwell again today and didn't want to argue with him. She tossed her hair and turned to leave. However, at that moment, Bruce finally spoke up.

"Selena, don't go. Come and help me with something."

Selena stopped in her tracks, placed her hands on her hips, turned her head slightly, and blinked at Bruce, her expression clearly conveying, "If you say something strange again, we're done."

But to her surprise, Bruce pointed to a pile of materials nearby and said, "Please help me find all the documents in there that contain keywords related to anxiety disorders. I need them urgently."

Seeing Bruce's serious expression, Selena wore a skeptical look. She walked over, sifted through the pile of materials, and then covered her eyes, saying, "What is all this?"

She picked up a document from the top and looked at the words on it. "...What does this word mean? And this 'psychology'... What kind of psychology is this? What's the meaning of this word at the beginning?"

Bruce stood up, took a document, and said, "You don't need to know all this. Just focus on finding the documents with the keyword 'anxiety disorder' in them for me."

Selena slammed the documents in her hand onto the table and exclaimed, "Bruce! Are you out of your mind? It's late at night, and you're not going for a drive or hanging out at a bar, or even going on a date. Instead, you're here going through this mess of materials?"

"These are not just a mess of materials," Bruce said, placing his hand on Selena's. "I need to submit a sixty-thousand-word paper by tomorrow morning, or else you might not see me the day after."

Selena widened her eyes and leaned back slightly, saying, "Really? Are you trying to scare me? Is the school going to expel you if you don't submit it on time?"

She waved her hand in front of her face with a mocking smile. "School would love to have rich students like you graduate a bit later. They'd never dare to expel you early. And besides, what do you mean by 'you won't see me'? If you don't submit your assignment, is someone going to break into your house? Even if they do, you're not afraid, right?"

Selena stared at Bruce with wide eyes, thinking that her arguments were quite reasonable given the beautiful evening and the good times they could have. Why work on assignments here? But soon, she heard Bruce say, "I'm certain that if I don't submit the paper tomorrow morning, he will really come to my house, and I won't be able to defeat him."

Selena was even more surprised. She stared at Bruce and said, "Your mental state is really off! You're talking nonsense now! There's someone in this city you can't beat? Don't tell me it's the one we saw in Metropolis, that guy who can fly in the sky?"

"No, it's scarier than that. It's my psychology professor..."

"Who?"

"Schiller Rodriguez."

"Enough talking. Where are the materials? Let me help you find them, and you start writing quickly."

Ten minutes later, Selena emerged from behind the table, having crawled out from the pile of materials that had engulfed her. She straightened her disheveled hair and said, "No, Bruce, you can't do this. You can't write such a thick paper overnight!"

Without lifting his head, Bruce replied, "I'm working on making the impossible possible. Hurry, help me find materials with keywords related to autism."

Selena looked at the jumbled mess of papers in her hands and said, "Wait a minute. I saw them earlier... Let me search... Oh no! I've scattered them!"

A few more minutes passed, and Selena, holding a stack of materials, lamented, "I can barely recognize English anymore! I've never seen so many words in my life!"

She let out a deep sigh in place, but suddenly, she paused, squinted one eye, curled the corner of her mouth mischievously, clearly thinking of some mischievous idea.

After a while, Selena placed her hands on Dick's shoulders and pointed to the door of the brightly lit study room. She said, "Bruce needs help right now, and I can't be of much help. I think you can assist him."

Dick had just finished telling Aisha a story, and Selena's sudden enthusiasm puzzled him. He remembered that whenever Selena was around, she was always with Bruce, and Dick had to be careful not to disturb their private moments.

Originally, after finishing the story, Dick had planned to go back to his room to sleep, worried that he might hear something he shouldn't. But now, according to Selena, Bruce was apparently working on an assignment?

Even though he was currently in middle school, he understood one thing very well: when you haven't seen your girlfriend for a few days, spending your first night together should be about something other than doing homework.

With a very puzzled mind, Dick was pushed into the study by Selena and saw the sea of various materials laid out.

"Dick, you're here?" Bruce didn't even look up. He said, "Help me pick up the materials on the floor. Put the yellow documents on the left, the blue ones on the right, and all the textbooks over here..."

Bruce pointed to the spot on the floor with his finger. Dick glanced at his busy figure and didn't say anything. He immediately started organizing the materials.

"Don't leave. Where's the children's psychology book? Check the page numbers against the keywords we discussed earlier..." Bruce spoke again without lifting his head.

Selena, who had been sneaking away, immediately froze in place like a frostbitten eggplant, lowered her arms, sighed, and plunged into the sea of documents.

After a while, Dick stretched his stiff neck. He saw Bruce beside him writing furiously, nearly depleting half a bottle of ink, but judging by the thickness of the completed manuscript beside him, it seemed like he hadn't even finished ten percent of it.

Just thinking about a sixty-thousand-word paper made Dick feel a bit anxious. He swallowed hard and said quietly to Selena, "I'll never go to this university in the future!"

"You still want to go to college?" Selena asked in surprise. "Aren't you the one who hates doing homework the most?"

She glanced at Bruce and continued, "Look at him. Even such a rich person like him is being driven crazy by assignments now that he's in college. Do you think you can finish a sixty-thousand-word paper in one night?"

"Of course it's impossible, for anyone!" Dick immediately replied. But then he realized his voice was a bit too loud, so he lowered it and said, "I think, in any case, if you can't finish it, it's almost the same as not writing it, right?"

"Cough, cough..." Bruce coughed twice, and both of them fell silent.

Meanwhile, the three of them buried themselves in their studies in the room. But on the other side, Aisha, who had been left in the room, was feeling unhappy.

Although Dick had finished telling her a story, she wasn't asleep yet. In the past, among these three, there would always be someone to keep her company until she fell asleep.

Aisha, who wouldn't sleep without being comforted, jumped off the bed, ran to the door, and pushed it open. She looked at the dark Manor corridor and didn't feel the least bit afraid. Her eyes emitted a faint yellow glow as she gazed down the hallway and then ran out.

In the vast Manor, most of the rooms were dark, except for one room with an open door from which light spilled out. Aisha noticed it immediately.

Perhaps inheriting some of Batman's genes, even at her young age, Aisha had already learned the art of counter-surveillance. She tiptoed, looking left and right on the way, checking if anyone was watching her.

In the room, the three people were too engrossed in their work. Selena was busy searching for documents using keywords, Dick was organizing the documents, and Bruce was racing against time to finish his assignment. None of them noticed that a small figure had opened the door a crack and was peeking inside.

Aisha couldn't comprehend what work and assignments were, but she knew that these three people in the room would rather play with these papers than play with her.

Aisha, who hadn't been comforted to sleep, was very angry. She squatted down, legs coiled with tension, and with a parabolic leap, she jumped into the midst of the pile of materials.

In an instant, the papers turned into a blizzard, rising high into the air and slowly falling down. Amidst the gaps in the documents, Bruce's face, as lifeless as ashes, was revealed.

The next morning, Schiller tapped on the empty desk and exchanged puzzled glances with Bruce. He asked, "Where's the assignment?"

"It got eaten by Aisha."

"...And where's Aisha?"

Bruce paused for a second, then bent down and pulled out a little girl from under the table. [XD]

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, without ads and support the work.]

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

Next Chapter>>Chapter 755: Life and Death at Batman's Speed (Part 2)